Nightmares, hurt, and fear, we all have them
by mimnim
Summary: Shifu has strong emotions. And they are not always positive. Sometimes even the strongest need a shoulder to cry on. No slash, just father/daughter fluff
1. Updated version, read first

**So I already wrote this story once, and published it, but I re-read it and found that it hadn't turned out quite the way I wantes it two. Here is my second attempt. I will post the originall as the second chapter if you want to comare it.  
**

 _(this bit is a nightmare)_

 _They were on the boat again, fighting Shen. Shen was stronger this time though, and more skilled. Shifu found that no kung fu move he knew could get passed his defence._

 _Just then he heard a roar from behind him, and he turned round to see Tai lung._

 _"You made me suffer, Shifu, and now, in turn, I will make you suffer!" Tai lung breathed in his low menacing voice. He grabbed Tigress, who was nearest to him, strangeling her. Tigress strugled, and tried to fight back, but she was no math for his strength. Then Shifu tried to help her, but his attacks bounced off Tai lung harmlessly._

 _"Mwa ha ha, now you will never find peace!" Shen yelled at him from behind, and Shifu turned round to see Po dead at Shen's hand._

 _One of the wolf guards came up behind Monkey, Shifu tried to call out to him but he was too slow. Before he knew it, Monkey wa dead._

 _Mantis and Viper were trying to get to Tigress, so Shifu ran to help, only he tripped. Then Mantis and viper were both crushed by Tai lung._

 _"Look at me Shifu, I want to see your pain as I kill the student who replaced me!" Shifu looked, and was horrified to see Tai lung killing Tigress._

 _"No,no,no!"_

Shifu woke up with a start, panting and, to his horror, crying.

"It was just a nightmare, just a stupid nightmare," he told himself. But he couldn't get it out of his head, that horrible, horrible scene.

He got up, and went outside for some fresh air, he lived in a cave, so the air was usually the same inside and out. But tonight his cave was humid and stuffy.

When he stepped outside, the air was certainly cooler and dryer.

He decided to try meditating by the peach tree instead of inside the cave, to try and calm himself down.

He slowly took in his surroundings, making his may up the path on the side of the hill. He was still breathing heavily, and was being about as stealthy as a rampaging elephant. When he passed the barracks, he thought he saw movement behind Tigress's window, and he almost stopped to investigate, but he decided it was nothing. He didn't want to wake Tigress, she knew him so well she could read his emotions like a book. He just wanted to b alone now.

Eventually he arrived at the sacred peach tree. As he watched it, swaying in a slight breez, he realised that the last time he had been here was when Oogway died.

Shifu curled himself up in a ball and sat with his back against the peach tree. He was the grand Master of the Jade palace now. He must be strong. He must be at peace.

Like Master Oogway had been.

Just thinking about Oogway brought tears to Shifu's eyes, he missed him so much. He knew that Oogway was at peace when he left, and that he would not have waned Shifu to remain sad, but, Shifu reasoned with himself, it didn't lesson the pain. How he wished Oogway were here with him now. Oogway had always been able to offer good advice, he had always been there when he needed him.

He remmembered Oogway's final lesson, about inner peace. He tried to apply it, by sitting in a meditational position, and tried, he really tried, to acheive inner peace.

But peace would not come.

His emotions were overwellming him. And couldn't get that picture of Tai lung killing Tigress out of his head.

He curled himself up into a ball.

How come he found it so hard to master inner peace, when even Po, his clumsiest student had managed?

How come he, the most knowlegeable Kung fu master alive right now, could not always master a lesson he had taught others?

Why was he so weak?

He knew that he had never been cut out to be a Kung fu master, mainly because of his size, but he had always pushed passed his disadvanteges, and become strong through years of intense training.

Despite this, he knew that he could never be as strong as Tigress, as fast as monkey, as agile as viper or as stealthy as Mantis. And he would never be able to fly like Crane or acheive the same amount of peace as Po.

He knew the theory of it all, and he had trained so hard to acheive it, but the truth was he would never be capable of it. He was a red panda. So basically a panda without all the advantages of being big.

He remembered Po once saying that pandas had no claws, no venom, no wings. At the time he had thought Po was being ridiculus, but now he understood what he ment. But Po was wrong, he did have one advantage; he was big. He could be strong.

"Stop it!" he chided himself, "Don't compare yourself to others, it will only lead to jealousy, you have your own strong points!" But even though he was telling himself that, he failed to see what they were. Shifu felt more tears well up in his eyes. He tried to wipe them away, but they kept coming.

He was useless!

He students would soon overtake him and no longer need him.

Already he taught them less and less lessons, and though he would never admit it, but his missed it. He knew they could train fine on their own, and he knew they probably preferred it without him there, but really he was starting to feel really lonely in his cave.

He yearned for the time when Tai lung, a cub, would wake him up in the morning, and they would spend the day together.

But now Tai lung was dead, a monster who was dead. Like in his dream,

"No!" he thought to himself, "Tai Lung wasn't that bad, your nightmare made it seem worse," that didn't stop the doubt.

He looked up into the distant sky. It was so clear tonight he could see some stars. He knowticed a constellation that, to him, looked like a tiger.

That reminded him of the time when he was teaching Tigress, and he spent the day with her. He really wished he could do that over. He should have been some much nicer, and show her some affection. She was an orphan after all, and he had adopted her. He shouldn't have constantly been comparing her to Tai lung in his head.

Just thinking about how he had treated her, made him hang his head in shame. He realised he had never bothered to make it up to her, and now it would be much harder. Since he lived in a cave. All alone.

He missed the hustle and bustle of the palace, he missed the familiar boards in his room's ceiling, but mostly he missed knowing that his students were near at hand. Even at night, just knowing that they were only a few corridors away seemed to stop nightmares from coming.

He knew he could just pop up to the palace whenever he wanted, but it wasn't the same. He always had to have an excuse, and couldn't very easily say he was lonely.

But He was lonely. Very lonely.

He pulled himself into a tighter ball, trying to push all these dismal thoughts to the back of his head, but it didn't work. His glad no one was around, because he found that his arms were wet with tears that had made their way down his cheeks. He didn't think they would stop soon.

...

Tigress couldn't sleep.

She lay, staring at the ceiling, thinking of all the things that had happened that day. There weren't very many. She supposed that was why she was awake now. She hadn't worn herself out propaly, she had just done the boring everyday training. Nothing new. Nothing hard.

She sighed, and rolled over trying to find a comfortable position.

This was the main reason why she missed Shifu teaching lessons. He always pushed and taught her something new. She was always tired after a day of training with him.

She hadn't even seen him today, and she really wished she had. It must get lonely in that cave, she thought, though I suppose he doesn't miss teaching lessons. She knew he had pressious little left to teach them, and rather than making her happy that she had almost finished her training, it made her sad to know that she was almost done.

She sighed and got up, and stared out of her window.

One day, she knew, she would become the grand master of the Jade palace. Oogway had told her so. Apparently it didn't depend on who was strongest, or, Dragon warrior, it was to do with heritage. And because Shifu had adopted her, the palace would someday be hers.

She was NOT looking foward to it.

She wished Shifu could keep it forever, and she could stay free of any responsibility. She also knew that she would only get it when he was gone, a thought she could not bear thinking about.

She lay her head on her paws, sighing.

She wished she could see more of Shifu. She hardly ever saw him any more, just once a week for a lesson, but apart from that he mostly stayed in his cave.

Suddenely, she saw something move outside. She lifted her head slightly before freezing, and straining her eyes, to try and see what it was.

It was Shifu.

He was walking in the direction of the sacred peach tree.

Tigress could also tell that he was sad. She had had so much practise reading his emotions over the years, so that to any one else, Shifu could seem to have no emotion, while to her she knew exactly what he was feeling, even from a distance.

To her it was obvious, the slow pace at witch he walked, the way his ears drooped, his whole position gave it away.

Even the other five couldn't tell that.

She decided to find out what the matter was, as she hated seeing him sad, and because she had nothing better to do.

She quietly crept out of her room and made her way to the doors of the palace. She crept out, careful to close the door behind her, and walked off in the direction of the peach tree.

...

Suddenely Shifu heared someone else. He heard their breahing, and their paws on the ground. He flicked his ears, just to be sure.

"What is the matter Tigress?" he asked, trying very hard to keep his voice steady.

"I came to find out what the matter was with you master," she answered, sitting down next to him. He turned his face away, so that she couldn't see that he was crying.

"I, I am fine, " he whispered, not even convincing himself.

"Master, you are many things, but a good liar is not one of them," Tigress said, trying to put her arm round him, but he shook it off.

"No, no I'm not," Shifu ouldn't keep the sadness out of his voice any longer.

"Master Shifu?"

"I said I'm n-not, I'm n-not m-many things," Shifu was shaking slightly now, knowing that trying to hide his emotions from Tigress was futile, but still trying nne the less. He wanted to be strong, he wanted to over come his struggles by himself.

"Master you are thr greatest Kung fu Master who ever lived," Tigress replied, soothingly,

"H-How can you s-say that? I have not your strength, I am not that fast, I am not very agile, and I can't even acheive inner peice!" Shifu was practically yelling now. It wasn't very loud though, as his voice was horse from crying.

Tigress was shocked. She had no idea how much Shifu was going through. She tried again to at least put her arm round him, but he wasn't having it.

"M-master Oogway was the b-best master who ever lived, I, I miss him," A fresh wave of greif washed over Shifu, and Tigress couldn't bear it any longer. Before he could protest, she gently picked him up and gave him a hug.

Shifu would usually be embarrassed by a hug, but right now he couldn't care less; he just kept talking, now that he had started, he just wanted to get it all out.

"He always knew how to comfort me when I had nightmares, and help me not feel so useless," he hicouphed.

"Master, you are not useless," Tigress whispered gently. She loved master Shifu as her father, and seeing him like this broke her heart. She did not know what she could do. So she sat, being careful not to let him escape her hug, listening.

"Name one good thing I can do," was Shifu's bitter reply.

"You have the best hearing in the world, you know about every part of Kung fu, and you are cleverer than anyone i know," Tigress replied. All of this was true. She always thought he knew it.

"M-master Oogway was better, he had such a state of peace that he never had nightmares or worries, he- he, he was a much better master than me, I can't even control my emotions," Shifu did not know what was making him say all this, what was making him be honest. Usually he kept all his thoughts, and worries to himself. He did not want to burden other poeple. He wanted to be able to help others, and not need to be helped.

"Master you can't stop emotions, no one can, you have a right to feel them, and as for nightmares, if you tell me, I might be able to help you find a way to stop them," Tigress said calmly, yet soothingly.

Master Shifu had not known that Tigress had a soft side, and he realised that she was only showing it to him, to help him feel better. A help he did not deserve. He had never been that nice to her when she was a child. He didn't deserve her love. But he did realise that she wanted to help him. And that he was very gratefull for, even if he felt like he oughtn't have it.

"Umm," Tigress gently got Shifu's attention back, and he remembered that he was supposed to tell her about his nightmare.

Just thinking about it made him curl up in a ball. Tigress held him slightly tighter,

"It's Ok," she said,

"It started with us fighting Shen..." Shifu gulped, "only, then Tai lung showed up, and, and, he killed you, and then Shen killed all th-the others and I w-was the only one left, and then he kills me" Shifu faltered, and fresh tears started to form.

"I promise that that will never happen," -Tigress said with conviction, allowing a few tears to form in her own eyes-"I promise, master, that I will always be here for you, I will protect you no matter what,"

"That's not what I want, I want to be strong enough to protect you, I know that I was terrible at showing it Tigress, but I really do love you and I am proud of you, I was so fixated on remembering Tai lung that I never treated you with the affection yo deserved, I'm sorry, " Shifu sniffled.

"It's Ok master, I already forgave you long ago, I love you too,"

Shifu sobbed a bit more, what had he done to receive such a wounderfull daughter, who still loved him even after he had mistreated her?

"It's Ok, it's ok," Tigress hushed him. Usually he would have been humiliated, but right now he was feeling so lonly and sad that he welcomed her presence and hug willingly.

Shifu began to feel sleepy. He felt safe in Tigress's arms, and wanted. He also felt a lot less lonely.

Tigress smiled. She was glad Shifu was finally calming down, and she didn't mind the fact that he was falling asleep in her arms.

She knew that even the strongest needed a shoulder to cry on sometimes, and a hug every now and then.

Not letting your feelings show, and telling your self you are strong enough is not always, ok never, a good thing.

You need friends to live, who can support you, and whom you can support in turn.

Don't try and be strong by hiding.

Trust me, it doesn't work.

The author


	2. Originall

**Just a cute little one shot about Shifu and Tigress.**

 **...**

 _" And now I have killed your students, I will kill you too!" Shen Laughed maliciously._

 _"No, no!" Shifu looked around helplessly at his dead students. All dead because he had been too slow to react. He turned his head and saw Tai lung dead aswell, after killing Tigress. He could do nothing, it was helpless. He felt hot tears run down his cheeks._

 _"No, please, no..."_

Shifu woke up with a start, panting and, to his horror, crying.

"It was just a nightmare, just a stupid nightmare," he told himself. But he couldn't get it out of his head, that horrible, horrible scene.

He decided that maybe some fresh air might help, well fresher. He lived in a cave, so the air was pretty much the same inside and out. When he stepped outside though, the air was certainly cooler and dryer. He decided to try meditating by the peach tree instead of inside the cave, to try and calm himself down.

Walking to the peach tree took awhile, and when Shifu got there he wished he hadn't.

The last time he had been here was when Oogway died.

Shifu curled himself up in a ball and sat with his back against the peach tree. He was the grand Master of the Jade palace now. He must be strong. He must be at peace.

Like Master Oogway had been.

Just thinking about Oogway brought tears to Shifu's eyes.

Oh, how he missed him. He knew that Oogway was at peace when he left, and that he would not have waned Shifu to remain sad, but, Shifu reasoned with himself, it didn't lesson the pain. How he wished Oogway were here with him now. Oogway had always been able to offer good advice, he had always been there when he needed him.

He remmembered Oogway's final lesson, about inner peace. He usually mastered it, but tonight, peace would not come. Shifu's emotions were getting in the way.

That made him angry. How come he found it so hard to master inner peace, when even Po, his clumsiest student had managed?

How come he, the most knowlegeable Kung fu master alive right now, could not always master a lesson he had taught others?

Why was he so weak?

He knew that he had never been cut out to be a Kung fu master, but he had always pushed passed his disadvanteges, and become strong through years of intense training.

Despite this, he knew that he could never be as strong as Tigress, as fast as monkey, as agile as viper or as stealthy as Mantis. And he would never be able to fly like Crane or acheive the same amount of peace as Po. He knew the theory of it all, and he had trained so hard to acheive it, but the truth was he would never be capable of it. He was a red panda. So basically a panda without all the advantages of being big. He had no advantages when it came to species, he was small, and though he was strong for his size, he wasn't that strong.

"Stop it!" he chided himself, "Don't compare yourself to others, it will only lead to jealousy, you have your own strong points!" But even though he was telling himself that, he failed to see what they were. Shifu felt more tears well up in his eyes.

He was useless!

He students would soon overtake him and no longer need him.

Already he taught them less and less lessons, and seriously his missed it. He knew they could train fine on their own, and he knew they probably preferred it without him there, but really he was starting to feel really lonely in his cave.

He missed the hustle and bustle of the palace, he missed the familiar boreds in his room, but mostly he missed knowing that his students were near at hand. Even at night, just knowing that they were only a few corridors away seemed to stop nightmares from coming.

Now he felt so lonely.

...

Tigress couldn't sleep.

She hadn't worn herself out that day, so here she was at who knows what time of night awake.

This was the main reason why she missed Shifu teaching lessons. He always pushed and taught her something new.

She hadn't even seen him today, and she really wished she had. It must get lonely in that cave, she thought, though I suppose he doesn't miss teaching lessons. She knew he had pressious little left to teach them, and rather than making her happy that she had almost finished her training, it made her sad to know that she was almost done.

She sighed and got up, and stared out of her window. One day, she knew, she would become the grand master of the Jade palace. Oogway had told her so. Apparently it didn't depend on who was strongest or Dragon warrior, it was to do with heritage. And because Shifu had adopted her, the palace would someday be hers.

She was NOT looking foward to it.

She wished Shifu could keep it forever, and she could stay free of any responsibility.

She wished she could see more of Shifu. She hardly ever saw him any more, just once a week for a lesson, but apart from that he mostly stayed in his cave.

Suddenely she saw something move outside. She stayed completely still, and strained her eyes, to try and see what it was.

It was Shifu. He was walking in the direction of the sacred peach tree. Tigress could also tell that he was sad. She had had so much practise reading his emotions over the years, so that to any one else, Shifu could seem to have no emotion, while to her she knew exactly what he was feeling, even from a distance. Even the other five couldn't tell that.

She decided to find out what the matter was, as she hated seeing him sad, and because she had nothing better to do.

She quietly crept out of her room and made her way to the doors of the palace. She crept out, careful to close the door behind her, and walked off in the direction of the peach tree.

...

Suddenely Shifu heared someone else. He heard their breahing, and their paws on the ground.

"What is the matter Tigress?" he asked, trying very hard to keep his voice steady.

"I came to find out what the matter was with you master," she answered, sitting down next to him. He turned his face away, so that she couldn't see that he was crying.

"I, I am fine, " he whispered, not even convincing himself.

"Master, you are many things, but a good liar is not one of them," Tigress said, trying to put her arm round him, but he shook it off.

"No, no I'm not," Shifu ouldn't keep the sadness out of his voice any longer.

"Master Shifu?"

"I said I'm n-not, I'm n-not m-many things," Shifu was shaking slightly now, knowing that trying to hide his emotions from Tigress was futile.

"Master you are thr greatest Kung fu Master who ever lived," Tigress replied, soothingly,

"H-How can you s-say that? I have not your strength, I am not that fast, I am not very agile, and I can't even acheive inner peice!"

Tigress was shocked. She had no idea how much Shifu was going through. She tried again to at least put her arm round him, but he wasn't having it.

"M-master Oogway was the b-best master who ever lived, I, I miss him," A fresh wave of greif washed over Shifu, and Tigress couldn't bear it any longer. Before he could protest, she gently picked him up and gave him a hug.

Shifu would usually be embarrassed by a hug, but right now he couldn't care less; he just kept talking, now that he had started, he just wanted to get it all out.

"He always knew how to comfort me when I had nightmares, and help me not feel so useless,"

"Master, you are not useless," Tigress whispered gently. She loved master Shifu as her father, and seeing him like this broke her heart.

"Name one good thing I can do," was Shifu's bitter reply.

"You have the best hearing in the world, you know about every part of Kung fu, and you are cleverer than anyone i know," Tigress replied.

"M-master Oogway was better, he had such a state of peace that he never had nightmares or worries, he- he, he was a much better master than me, I can't even control my emotions,"

"Master you can't stop emotions, no one can, you have a right to feel them, and as for nightmares, if you tell me, I might be able to help you find a way to stop them," Tigress said calmly, yet soothingly.

Master Shifu had not known that Tigress had a soft side, and he realised that she was only showing it to him, to help him feel better. A help he did not deserve. He had never been that nice to her when she was a child. He didn't deserve her loving care.

"Umm," Tigress gently got Shifu's attention back, and he remembered that he was supposed to tell her about his nightmare.

Just thinking about it made him curl up in a ball. Tigress held him slightly tighter,

"It's Ok," she said,

"It started with us fighting Shen..." Shifu gulped, "only, then Tai lung showed up, and, and, he killed you, and then Shen killed all th-the others and I w-was the only one left, and then he kills me" Shifu faltered, and fresh tears started to form.

"I promise that that will never happen," -Tigress said with conviction, allowing a few tears to form in her own eyes-"I promise, master, that I will always be here for you, I will protect you no matter what,"

"That's not what I want, I want to be strong enough to protect you, I know that I was terrible at showing it Tigress, but I really do love you and I am proud of you," Shifu sniffled.

"It's Ok master, I know, I love you too,"

Shifu sobbed a bit more, what had he done to receive such a wounderfull daughter, who still loved him even after he had mistreated her?

"It's Ok, it's ok," Tigress hushed him. Usually he would have been humiliated, but right now he was feeling so lonly and sad that he welcomed her presence and hug willingly.

Shifu began to feel sleepy. He felt safe in Tigress's arms, and wanted. He also felt a lot less lonely.

Tigress smiled. She was glad Shifu was finally calming down, and she didn't mind the fact that he was falling asleep in her arms.

She knew that even the strongest needed a shoulder to cry on sometimes, and a hug every now and then.

Not letting your feelings show, and telling your self you are strong enough is not always, ok never, a good thing.

You need friends to live, who can support you, and whom you can support in turn.

Don't try and be strong by hiding.

Trust me, it doesn't work.

The author


End file.
